1983 GM Entire Line-Up | Retro Review

with your host john davis hello and welcome to motorweek i'm glad you're with us as you can see this week we're at the general motors proving grounds in milford michigan as we continue our look at all that's new and all that's renewed from the domestic automakers for 1983. later we'll be going to southfield to the headquarters of the american motors corporation to see how their marriage with renault is going with a close look at their first offspring the alliance and all the other amc renault and jeep models for this new car year pat goss will be along to give some very important advice to all of you that own the new power wave in automobiles turbocharged engines with some cautions about oil changes they could make the difference between high cost performance and higher cost repairs but first come along with us up general motors road to see what the world's largest car maker has in store for 1983. actually the newest member of the gm family is more likely to be found off-road topping a barren knoll or plowing through a shallow stream it's not really a car at all we're talking about the new s10 blazer the latest addition to the s10 mid-size truck line introduced only last year this multi-purpose vehicle that most of us would call a truck slash station wagon is available in both two and four-wheel drive in a lot of ways it's about the neatest little vehicle we've seen in years with a wheelbase of just over 100 inches the mini blazer is over six inches lower and has 15 inches less length and width than the full-size blazer it will no doubt eventually replace gm's truck and coach division will have its own version of the blazer called the s15 jimmy it will share all the same drive trains that includes a new four-wheel drive transfer case that allows shifting into or out of the all-wheel mode at any speed base power is an 83 horsepower 2-liter chevy made four-cylinder but most buyers will probably opt for the 110 horsepower 2.8 liter v6 the first v6 to be offered in any compact truck another new variant of the s10 line is this extended cab model you get an extra 14 inches behind the front seat and that's enough room for 19 cubic feet of cargo or two elfish passengers inside mounted jump seats you can also get the extended cab in two or four wheel drive and all s10 models will be offering diesel power early in 1983. 1983 may be a big year for gm trucks but most of its car divisions will have to be content with pedaling carryover models gm has been introducing new car lines at a breakneck pace for the last four years so in 1983 they figure it's time for a breather but that doesn't exactly mean that they're just sitting back on the sidelines if anything gm is trying to improve an already extensive line of front and rear wheel drive vehicles case in point the compact j-body line like all gm divisions chevrolet has heard all too much about the lack of power on the j-car theirs is the cavalier so for 83 the old 1.8 liter carbureted four-cylinder has been replaced with a 2-liter fuel-injected power plant the result 10 percent more torque and 30 more initial acceleration from a standing start that translates into a reduction of one and a half seconds in elapsed time over a quarter-mile run the new engine can also be mated to a standard manual four-speed a three-speed automatic or a new japanese-made five-speed overdrive manual all that inside their familiar body styles a four-door wagon a two-door hatchback and two and four-door sedans both chevrolet and pontiac plan to offer their answer to the convertible craze with open-air versions of the j around the first of the year this pontiac 2000 ragtop is really an eye-catcher and just to be different it takes still another performance route standard engines on all 2000s will be a 1.8 liter fuel-injected overhead cam power plant imported from gm brazil pontiac also covers the entire range of body styles with their 2000 including for the first time a four-door wagon chevrolet had that model all to itself up to now and if that weren't enough two other gm divisions will also be adding j wagons for the first time under the sign of the osmo bill forensic cruiser and buick both skyhawk buick and oles will take still another approach to engines offering the 2-liter fuel-injected as standard and the 1.8 liter overhead cam as an option but the big news at buick is yet another letter they're introducing a complete line of higher performance cars calling them t-types the skyhawk t-type is available in a two-door coupe only and features the 1.8 engine and 5-speed grand touring suspension quicker steering aluminum wheels and special paint and trim the object of this exercise is all those potential sirocco supra and prelude customers buick's tinkering has made an already good handling car even better things are a little simpler at the next rung on the ladder this is the car that started the gm small car front driveway the x-body all four mainline divisions will at least have a performance version at chevy it's the citation x11 at oles the omega es naturally at buick a skylark t-type and at pontiac this phoenix sj the top engine selection is a high output version of chevy's 2.8 v6 they can be mated to either a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic the hov6 4-speed combination is 1.4 seconds faster from 0-60 than the standard v6 a 2.5 liter fuel-injected four-cylinder is also available on most x-body lines while chevy and pontiac offer both sedans and hatchbacks buick and oles will still opt for the notchback versions only at the top of the contemporary front drive family sedan heap since the newest pledge in the gm fine car fraternity the a body from chevrolet it's the celebrity initiation of this model was only last january power continues to be from gasoline four and six cylinders a new wrinkle is an optional 4.3 liter v6 diesel supplied by osmobile oles tried that engine first in its a-car version the cutlass sierra combined with the four-speed automatic overdrive transaxle the engine got economy ratings of 27 city and 46 highway but pontiac's version known as the 6000 is getting an altogether different approach this is the 6000 ste a high styled road holding four-door molded in the best european sports sedan tradition special grill in driving lamps front air dam aluminum wheels and high performance tires plus the 2.8 liter high output v6 made this car a favorite of our trip on the inside fully adjustable orthopedically designed bucket seats full instrumentation and this driver information center not only does it remind you of open doors and low fluids but it also reminds you of when your investment needs service it's the most advanced electronic display we've seen yet but the real pleasure is in the driving through this small handling course the ste charmed its way around the pylons in championship style not to be outdone enter the buick century four-door t-type with a different but no less effective approach to trim the formerly old man's division is showing that it can produce fun cars too buick chose to use its own 3 liter v6 and will add a new automatic overdrive transaxle after the first of the year from these cars and secret engineering prototypes we've seen it's clear that gm has high hopes for the a bodies and is trying to offer versions to fit every lifestyle but the biggest and the first of gm's front drivers were the buick riviera with or without turbo charging and the oldsmobile toronado now for 1983 it'll be this 25 000 riviera convertible in red or white that is bound to continue to provide both high technology and tans for the country club set but front wheel drive is only about half the gm story gm is still hanging in there building hundreds of thousands of rear drive cars each year and since the cutting edge of technology isn't everybody's cup of tea rear wheel drive remains a major item in the general showrooms for a lot of years gm was most noted for its bigger cars of course bigger cars also meant bigger profits so it's not surprising to still see quite a few of them running around but these days they do most of their running on 30 mile per gallon diesel power cars such as this osmobile 98 the slightly smaller oles 88 and chevy caprice impala lines are enjoying a resurgence in sales thanks no doubt to the current stability of oil prices it also seems that customers haven't been altogether pleased with many of the much smaller replacements buick 2 is continuing the land yacht tradition with both the electra and the saber lines along with chevy and oles buick offers a variety of two and four-door sedans and wagons in what has to be the last tribute to the oldest of american love affairs this chevrolet malibu heads up the list of another lineup of cars that are still large by tomorrow's standards available with base v6 gas power and diesels has options they too continue to successfully buck the trend towards front-wheel drive pontiac having already dropped its full-size offerings calls its version bonneville buick has the regal and owes the cutlass supreme oldsmobile's four-door sedans and wagons are pretty much the same as they've been for several years but there's still quite a bit of life left in their two-door models coupes like this cutlass supreme still bring back memories of muscle cars of the 1960s this special hurst old celebrates the 15th anniversary of the first time olds matched its cars to the king of high performance shifters and this cutlass complete with a 5 liter v8 has hearst's lightning rod shifter this one with its three levers will let any street racer shift the four-speed automatic as a manual only 2500 will be made to match that old's marketing wit pontiac will still have its grand prix buick its turbocharged regal sports coupe and chevy this monte carlo at the bottom of the rear drive family car set the not so lowly chevrolet chevette and its close copy the pontiac 1000. the chavette was america's first really modern small car it's frequently eclipsed by much more interesting products from other makers but still it remains with diesel and gas power the top selling small car in all the land but if you're one who thinks rear drives can't possibly be of much interest or fun then you've fail to reckon with the brightest of the old-fashioned girls the new just this year pontiac firebird and chevrolet camaro known as gmf bodies no doubt for flash they can be had mild like this four-cylinder firebird or wild like this five-liter fuel-injected camaro z28 both cars get two new transmissions for 83 a fine five-speed manual and more economic four-speed automatic but it's the camaro that gets the most notably revised trim this new interior has very supportive fully adjustable bucket seats but they're unfortunately covered in fabric that could never be called sedate curiously it's the pontiac that gets the only engine change a new high output 2.8 liter v6 nothing unusual about that except the engine is made by chevrolet and you can't get it on the camaro pontiac will offer two special versions of the top line trans am during 83 a black and gold special edition recaro version complete with doe skin leather recaro seating and after the first of the year replicas of their daytona 500 pace car but all this fuss about the f car is merely meant to keep us interested until next march that's when we'll see this car the new from the ground up and no doubt highly expensive 1983 and a half chevrolet corvette america's only true sports car finally gets its first new set of fiberglass in 14 years you've probably noticed you haven't heard the name cadillac yet well now you have as the smallest of the gm divisions cadillac's models are aimed at narrow markets that really defy all but the broadest comparisons with the rest of the general motors family to say cadillac is unique is something of an understatement for 1983 cadillac becomes the first u.s car division to switch completely from carburetors to electronic fuel injection for all engines their largest cars are large all right a 20-foot long eight-passenger limousine and this 17-foot fort or fleetwood brome sedan for the second year most full-size caddies will be powered by a 4.1 liter iron aluminum block v8 the most modern v8 yet designed or as in the case with this two-door coupe de ville you can get an optional 5.7 liter v8 diesel unless you think cadillac doesn't know much about front wheel drive we should remind you that cadillac has been using pull me cars for years under the name of alvarado for 1983 eldorado's and for that matter cadillac's biggest news is a bigger sound provided by an optional delco bose premium sound system it's designed to compensate for all facets of a car's interior design and deliver the most lifelike sound you can get that system is also optional on the fort door front drive seville which continues into 1983 with only minor changes in paint and trim the only cadillac that really bears much resemblance to other gm products is the jsi cimarron for 83 cimarrons will sport a new grill and standard driving lights in addition a new 2-liter engine and revised suspension parts should improve its chances of being america's answer to luxurious european style touring sedans so taken as a whole the 1983 cadillac line provides those domestic car buyers who maintain hefty bank accounts for the line of cars that are truly in a class by themselves before we leave gm let me stop for a moment and remind you to write us and let us know how you like our new car reviews our address as always is motorweek owings mills maryland 2117 that's motorweek owings mills maryland 2117 you

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Keywords: Fuel, Automotive, Car, Speed, Electric Vehicle, PHEV, CUV, SUVs, Trucks, Review, Fuel Economy, Pickups, SUV, Fast, EV, Consumer, MotorWeek, PBS, Cars, Exotic, Clean, motorweek, Hybrid, Pickup Trucks, Diesel, Road Test, Track, Utilities, Gasoline, CUVs, MPG

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Length: 15min 59sec (959 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 16 2015